Just speaking to Josh Eithier on Twitter and he confirmed that Joe Begos is a massive Xtro fan and YES! The alien sex scenes in Almost Human 2013 were inspired by Xtro Fantastic Makes me love Almost Human even more

That's a perfect response. Your spot on there as usual I bought it ages ago as I like to support small horror films but it just Sat on my shelf for years. When I watched it this week the Xtro stuff made me love it. Hope your doing well JM :)

I'm recovering from a week-long bout of the flu. Sick like a dog for most of it and slowly getting better, but when I wasn't taking pills or sleeping like a log I watched a few flicks.

--2012's The Amazing Spider-Man 3D has not aged well at all, and in an awkward way it feels more dated than the Raimi trilogy despite having better special effects and honest-to-goodness great chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Is it me or does Peter Parker come across more affected and emotional for the death of Capt. Stacy (whom he has just met) than his Uncle Ben? Knowing the plot about Peter's parents is never resolved in the sequel makes every minute spent on it in this one feel like the waste of space that it is. The less said about Curt Connors and The Lizard the better (where have you gone, Dylan Baker? :'( ), and the alternative rock soundtrack made me wish my flu was lethal. Can't believe I used to defend the 'New York crain' sequence (looks great in 3D), which makes the 'New Yorkers united' bridge scene in the '02 "Spider-Man" feel subtle. There's enough good filmmaking and fun moments (the fight with The Lizard in Peter's high school is boss, Peter's first morning with superpowers, etc.) to make this a flick worth revisiting, but it's never going to rank among Spidey's better cinematic offerings.

12 Strong (which I saw early on the day that I got sick) isn't your typical brain-dead jingoistic military porn January dump by a major studio ("13 Hours" anyone?). Think of it as modern-day western in which the good American heroes (led by Australian Asgarth God Chris Hemsworth and Krypton's General Zod! :-P ) have to save the day and suffer being away from their families for... weeks! Navid Negahban steals the movie as Dostum, an Afghan war lord that aids the US military in its first-response retaliation attacks on the aftermath of 9/11. If you don't let politics enter your brain you'll be rewarded by pretty well-made action scenes, big explosions and your head not asked to do more than vegetate for two hours. Betweeen this and "In the Heart of the Sea" Chris Hemsworth is becoming the leading man for barely-seen decent flicks that fall short of greatness despite giving it his all.

A Good Day to Die Hard Blu Ray is only $7 on Amazon. At that price you can’t afford NOT to buy and re-evaluate this unfairly dismissed movie. Worth it for the car chase alone! One of the best action sequences of the decade!

That's $6.99 too much. Maybe if Jeff Bezos calls and begs me personally to take it off his shelf I MIGHT consider shelling a whole penny for that flaming bag of cinematic manure... emphasis on "maybe." :-(

Roman J. Israel, Esq - I liked it. Denzel kills it as always. Colin is miscast and doesn't pull off any redeeming qualities. The story is kind of a mess but I connected with the music, the headphones and the plight to constantly try to cope with the changing times while trying to make sense of your own belief system.

Tragedy Girls - I know there is a lot of love for this film. It didn't work for me in anyway, whatsoever. I actually really disliked it but it's not my kind of Horror film at all so I wasn't surprised. I did go in knowing absolutely nothing though, so I didn't have any preconceived thoughts. Didn't even know it was a "comedy". Sorry Heather :(

The Neighbor - Fichtner and Jessica McNamee are fantastic in this really small and quiet suburban drama/thriller. The interaction between them almost felt real; like improvised in a way. Not a bad little indie.

Was really looking forward to Roman J. Israel as loved nightcrawler and have been a public defender for 12 years. Then got dispirited by the reviews (hate when I do that). Will definitely still check it out if you thought it was good Chaybee. Remember Adam saying it was good as well on a podcast. And he is usually hard to please. Ha.

Still been a little busy this week, but managed to squeeze in a few movies.

I really enjoyed The Greatest Showman. The story's clichéd as hell but there's not an ounce of fat in the movie, it moves at a jog, the songs are fun and catchy and the performers do their job well. It hits you over the head with its message of inclusiveness, but it's not a bad message to be hit over the head with. I had a blast.

Also saw What Happened to Monday aka Seven Sisters, which had a few good twists but the overall story and the future world it's building failed to catch my interest at any time. And AlphaGo, an interesting documentary about a company developing an AI program that plays Go and them pitting it against the world champion. Well worth the time if you're into that sort of thing.

Then I rewatched Get Out (showed it to a friend, he liked it) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (felt like seeing something familiar, plus recently bought the Blu-ray set). Gonna see Molly's Game tomorrow night.

Finally got around to watching the heck out of Thor: Ragnarok and it may just be one of the best Marvel films I've seen (not going to lie I get superhero fatigue seemingly every year but then...) along with Deadpool and last years Logan! The best decision was the hiring of Taika Waititi to take the reins (and play Korg) and fill it with his wonderfully idiosyncratic and irreverent humour without it getting in the way but rather complimenting the dramatic moments... Visually dazzling, there are some wonderful Frank Frazetta style images, with the first genuinely interesting score (by Marvel movie standards) by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame, an 80's/pop culture vibe, LOVED the Willy Wonka reference AND Jeff Goldblum at his most Jeff Goldblum-ist!.. A perfect storm of all the thing I love about these pesky comic book movies!

ps. More Tessa Thompson please!!

The Rainmaker, dir. Francis Ford Coppola (1997)

There is something about legal movies, be them drama's like this though it is one paced like a thriller or indeed the thriller one's, that are like comfort food for me and this is one of my personal favourites! Written and directed by maestro Francis Ford Coppola, this is one of his most purely entertaining films albeit one that touches on big theme's and isn't afraid to point it's finger at big corporate insurance companies and their often (still?) underhand ways... Throw in a great cast, a jazzy Elmer Bernstein score and great widescreen cinematography by John Toll, A.S.C. and you have one of the best (and underrated) films of the 90's!

The Gingerbread Man, dir. Robert Altman (1998)

Keeping with the John Grisham legal thriller vibe I thought I'd re-visit one that is rarely talked about either in plethora Grisham movie adaptations or in director Robert Altman's cinematic career... Recall it didn't get much love back in '98 when I saw it and for all its flaws and it has its fair share I do dig it. Altman brings his unique different style to what could have been another slick Hollywood thriller, even if it caused a bunch of behind the scenes issues whilst still hitting the thriller beats nicely, especially in the second half of the film... A top drawer cast helps too; Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr., Daryl Hannah, Tom Berenger, Robert Duvall, as well as an emphasis on atmosphere (seems to be a reoccurring theme around that time regarding films dealing with in someway or another weather i.e. the underrated Hard Rain)... The first half is a bit of a slog and at times it hits the cliché button one too many times but once it finds its feet it is a good decent potboiler thriller.

Boyka: Undisputed, dir. Todor Chapkanov (2016)

Have to say that the Undisputed series of action movies are some of the best the genre has had to offer in the past nearly twenty years and part. 4 is no exception! Yes, these are very much what I would call "meat and potatoes" movies as everything is dialled down to the brass tacks and all the better for it... This time with series regular director Isaac Florentine, though must not forget that this series was kicked off by Walter Hill (part. 1 is one of my top ten movies of all time!), handing over the reins to Todor Chapkanov you still get that same combo of cracking action, these films are how fight scene's should be shot(!) and heartfelt (if a wee bit corny) drama with once again Scott Adkins proving he is the real deal in and out of the ring! These films take me back in the best possible way to the good old Cannon films of the 80's.

"The Rainmaker" I remember and liked, although next year's "A Civil Action" (starring John Travolta and written/directed by Steven Zaillian) is the legal movie from this period that earns my sleeper of the 90's lawyer movie craze. I saw and hated "The Gingerbread Man" back in the day, but I haven't seen it since it came out in theaters. God, I'm old. :'(

Dead on about A Civil Action. It's my favorite post-Pulp performance for Travolta, and one of the most underrated movies of the 90s. I watched it in a Business Law class I took in high school and thought it was just fantastic.

Les États-Unis d'Albert, 2005: a french-canadian movie from Québec. in the 20s, we follow a young wannabe-actor who travel through the USA by train to get to Hollywood. during the travels, he meets a cute girl, a weird guy, a bad guy and a bunch of other different people. a pretty well made Road Trip movie that flirts with fantastic elements from time to time, but never being straight up fantasy. great stuff.

Safety Last, 1923: Harold Lloyd is not Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, but this is a pretty decent comedy from the silent era. obviously the best part is the second part with the building climb.

cry of the city, 1948: pretty good Film Noir. well written, well photographed, well acted, a couple of twist i didn't see coming, this movie has it all. strongly recommend if you like Film Noir

Cry of the City is excellent. I remember catching it on television many years ago. It caught me by surprise, too, and it was one of those films I had to finish in spite of having somewhere else to go to at the time. I love how compact the best examples of film noir are.

Just watched Bad Boy Bubby (1993) and man oh man this movie had me feeling some kinda way. I never thought a film featuring mental illness, incest, and murder could be so funny and even possibly heartwarming? Maybe?? It's transgressive, it's weird, it's hilarious, and it's an utterly unique viewing experience. I'll avoid a plot description but know that while the first act is exceedingly bleak it gives way to a raucous coming of age odyssey in the second and third act with ruminations on subjects as wide ranging as Science vs Religion, the indie music scene, colonialism and also a fully grown man-child feeding pizza to a cat. Held together by a jaw dropping performance from Nicholas Hope this mad cap adventure, while not for the faint of heart, is one of the most rewarding 2hrs I've spent with a movie in quite sometime.

Other highlights from the week:

1987: When the Day Comes (2017) - A well-crafted call to arms that examines how the actions of an oppressive state can snowball into a movement by the people to create a better world. The editing is top notch, holding together what should have been a bloated story filled with characters and disparate plot threads (really this type of story is better suited to a series format) propelling the narrative forward and keeping the 2hr+ runtime from ever feeling overlong. While occasionally over melodramatic, a feature of a lot of South Korean cinema, 1987 is an incredibly timely portrait of an era that most Americans know little to nothing about. Directed by Jang Joon-hwan whose previous works include the delightful Save the Green Planet! and the under appreciated Hwayi: A Monster Boy.

Carnage Park (2016) - While I may have enjoyed it more because I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the movies it is riffing on I really dug this gritty little piece of indie horror. I thought Pat Healy and Ashley Bell gave great performances and the set design and visual style did an effective job of plunking me down into the twisted playground of Carnage Park.

I went out to a theater last night to see THE SHAPE OF WATER. It is difficult to write about because the film is operating on many levels: historical drama, romance, fantasy, and cinematic homage. How del Toro pulled everything together is impressive. Really liked it. It definitely requires another watch.

Only two other watches during the week.

THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI (1966) – It was not unusual for American International Pictures to combine the popular genres of the time into one film. This is by far the strangest example of that I have seen. GHOST alternates between being a haunted house comedy and a beach movie musical. The consequent shift in tone is jolting. Adding to the mix the random appearance of a very silly biker gang, a man in a gorilla suit, and the scantily clad ghost of the title renders the film even weirder. For those seeking examples of bizarre cinema, this film might be of interest. I was amused by it.

DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) – This re-creation of Gullah life at the beginning of the 20th century is difficult to critique. As a film, it is flawed. It feels like a filmed stage play during much of its running time. The film's creator, moreover, packs it with a dense tapestry of history and culture that can be difficult to penetrate. In spite of this, there is much artistic and cultural value to the film. It is, importantly, a depiction of a community that rarely gets recognition in American society. I also appreciated how the bonds of the community were presented.

Just got back from seeing Phantom Thread. Its....good. I always like what PTA puts out, but I couldn't help but feels it was a bit of a retread of stuff he's not only done before, but done better. I'll be interested to watch this one again in a year or so (not ashamed to admit that I often find PTA's work intellectually intimidating.) I just...idk. Anyone else gotten to see this yet?